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24. HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, DORCHESTER

The hospital here, commonly called 'St.
John's House,' was under the royal patronage,
and presumably of royal foundation, but we
hear nothing of it until the year 1324, when
William Marshall of Dorchester obtained a
licence from Edward II to endow a chaplain
who should celebrate daily in the chapel of the
hospital of St. John, Dorchester, for the soul of
the said William, for the souls of his ancestors
and successors and all the faithful departed. (fn. 1)
The date, therefore, when the hospital was built
cannot be definitely stated.

The wardenship, like that of many other royal
free chapels and hospitals within the gift of the
crown, was frequently held with other offices. In
June, 1334, Edward III presented his clerk, Martin de Ixnyngge, to the custody of the king's
hospital of Dorchester for life, directing the
brethren and sisters of the house to be 'intendant' to their new head, (fn. 2) who, in the previous
February, had been appointed master of the hospital of Maidstone, Kent. (fn. 3) In 1451 William
Man, vicar of Sturminster Marshall, was warden
of this hospital. (fn. 4)

As far as its internal management is concerned
a royal writ was issued, 18 November, 1359,
directing the escheator of the county to make
inquiry into the truth of the report that certain
lands and rents pertaining to the hospital of St.
John of Dorchester 'of our patronage' had been
granted away by former custodians to the great
waste and destruction of the house, so that various
services and almsgiving, established for the souls
of the king's progenitors, had ceased and been
withdrawn; a jury should be empanelled to
ascertain what lands and rents formerly belonged
to the house, what had been alienated away, and
by whom it had been done. (fn. 5) The return, made
the following month, stated that the hospital
formerly possessed seventeen messuages in the
town of Dorchester which produced a yearly
rent of £7 6s. 4d., a water-mill, 96 acres of
arable land, and 7 acres of meadow in Fordington, two cottages, 5 acres of land and meadow in
Puddletown with appurtenances, and that Richard
Creyk, late master, eight years ago alienated
one messuage to Richard Tannere, chaplain, for
the annual rent of 17s. for the term of his life.
Since that time the present warden, Simon
de Brantingham, had made further alienations,
and had not only conveyed away land but
carried off the goods and chattels of the house,
including linen (naperia) and bedding. (fn. 6) In
the course of these proceedings the said Simon
seems to have been either deposed or suspended,
for the following year the patent rolls, under
date of 6 July, 1360, record that Edward III
granted to his beloved clerk, Thomas de Brantingham, the life custody of the hospital of
St. John Baptist, Dorchester, vacant and in his
gift. (fn. 7)

In March, 1451, Henry VI made a grant of
the hospital (vulgarly called 'Sayntjohneshous')
with all its emoluments to the provost and
college of Eton, his deed reciting that whereas
the custody was then in the hands of William
Man, vicar of Sturminster Marshall, the present
grant should not hold good until by the death
or cession of the said incumbent the hospital
should next come into the king's hands. (fn. 8)
Whether this grant ever took effect it is difficult to say, for though it was confirmed by
Edward IV in 1467, (fn. 9) and again in 1473, (fn. 10)
the crown continued to appoint as the custody fell vacant, (fn. 11) and in the first year of his
reign Richard III bestowed the hospital, 'lately
occupied by a priest and of our disposal,' on the
Friars Minor of Dorchester. (fn. 12) The Act of Resumption passed on the accession of Henry VII
ordained that it should not be prejudicial 'to
any graunte or letters patents made by King Edward IV, late king of England, to Maister
Richard Hill, now dean of the king's chapell, of
and for the free chapell of Seynt John's in Dorchester.' (fn. 13)

The Valor of 1535 gives this house a clear
income of £3 4s. Antony Weldon was then
'rector' or incumbent. (fn. 14) By the Chantry Commissioners it was valued at £9 13s. 2d., out of
which 42s. 8d. was deducted in 'rents resolute,'
leaving a balance of £7 10s. 6d. (fn. 15) The whole
amount was received by the last incumbent,
Edward Weldon, 'towards his exhibition at the
University of Oxford by virtue of king's letters
patent dated 4 August 32 Henry VIII' (1540). (fn. 16)
On the confiscation of colleges and chantries he
was assigned a pension of £6. (fn. 17)

25. HOSPITAL OR LAZAR-HOUSE, DORCHESTER

There appears to have been a hospital built
here for the relief of lepers, but no particulars
have yet been recovered as to the date when it
was founded or the name of the founder. The
chantry certificate of Edward VI states that the
hospital or 'house of leprosy' at Dorchester had
no lands, but consisted of ten poor men who
received an annual rent of 40s. for their gowns
'by the hands of Mr. Williams, Esquire.' (fn. 37)

11. Edward IV in the first year of his reign, 21
Feb. 1462, appointed William Brown to the custody
(ibid. 1 Edw. IV, pt. 5, m. 18). Henry VI on his
brief return to power in 1470, without reference to
his former grant, ratified the estate of the said William
as master or warden of St. John Baptist, Dorchester,
as well as master of the house or chapel called 'le priory
hermitage' by Dorchester (ibid. 49 Hen. VI, m. 12).
Edward IV, after granting the reversion of the house,
when it should next come into the king's hand, in
frankalmoign to William Westbury, the provost and
college of Eton, March, 1473, in November of the
same year committed the custody to Master Oliver
Kyng, one of the clerks of the Signet (ibid. 13 Edw.
IV, pt. 1, m. 10 and 2), the letters patent for the
last being exchanged in November, 1477, in favour
of Richard Hill (ibid. 17 Edw. IV, pt. 2, m. 29).